Sinya Leland
Profile "Wait a minute... I just fixed this thing /yesterday/. How did you manage to break it /again/?" '' Sinya is a La Gian mechanic who appeared on Earth two years ago and was taken in by a Trailer clan. After learning and traveling with them for two years, she recently became a freelancer. A master mechanic, her skills in repair, design, and diagnostics are highly valued and contracted by various individuals in need of such services. Generally sociable to most, she is fascinated by mecha and has a collection of sketches drawn from all the mechs shes seen. Like most cats, though, she has a tendency to fall asleep in strange places and has a weakness for food and cat nip. Character Data Background= One of Sinya's earliest memories was the day that the Zaibach empire enslaved her village. The beastmen clans had always been treated as second class citizens compared to most humans, but under Zaibach control, things had gotten far worse. Many of the clans 'welcomed' into Zaibach rule were made to work in the energist pits, supplying the much needed material for powering the Gaean war machines: Guymelefs. It was a death sentence for a child, and her father knew it, so he made a bold move to save his daughter's life. He revealed to their captors that he had been trained as a mechanic in the human settlement of Freid. While speaking out of turn could have had him killed, the gamble paid off, and father and daughter were spared the pits in favor of being put to work with equally downtrodden human workers who maintained the Zaibach army. The workers adopted the girl as one of their own, many having little hope of ever seeing their own children again. They each shared part of their meals to make sure she stayed fed, since Zaibach saw no need to provide food for a useless child. In return, she ran errands for them, fetching parts and tools while they worked. They noticed as she began to pick up on things, learning from watching, and decided to start teaching her the trade. She was still quite young when their overseers finally were convinced of her use to them, and gave her what they saw as a 'gift' - a meal for herself each day. As a beastman, Sinya and her father had some natural talents that set them apart from the others. Their agility, and clawed fingers allowed them to pick up small objects and move about the guymelfs with incredible skill. Even so, her father was old when he had his first and only child - and his health was fading. To Zaibach, they were a necessary evil - used only for their talents, and then disposed of. Sinya and her father knew that it was only a matter of time before they outlived their usefulness. Their chance came soon enough. Miners discovered the unusual wreckage of a foreign guymelef, crushed beneath the bones of a dragon. It fell upon the team of mechanics to make some sense out of the machine that Zaibach had coined as 'Arius' - a word that to them, meant 'immortal'. It was her father who identified it as an early Ispano creation, although the summoning crystal had been cracked and there was no way to contact them for repairs. While they had been charged with getting the guymelef in working order, both Sinya and her father knew that this was not something that should fall into Zaibach's hands. When the final repairs were just about completed, Sinya's father slipped her a single dragon energist that he had managed to snatch from the Zaibach supplies. Both knew that this would be his last gift to his only daughter - the gift of her freedom. The keepers hadn't expected an escape attempt from such long time servants of the empire, so they were caught off-guard when one of the units being repaired broke through the barriers of the facility. Sinya waited just a moment, watching as the combat units were sent out to intercept the thief, and then brought Arius to life. With the distraction at the cost of her father's life, she was able to escape before another squad was able to be dispatched, vanishing into the nearby forest. In truth, the Zaibach sentries would have found her eventually. Still, sometimes the cards of fate hae a way of dealing you just the right hand. Sinya, having lived as a captive most of her life, was unaware of the strange stories the locals told about the forest. Sometimes, they claimed to see ghostly images, or sounds they couldn’t explain. There were even disappearances - people who went into the woods and never returned. So it came as quite a surprise to her when stepping through the dense mists, she arrived not at the edge of the forest as she expected, but on the sandy shore of another land. A strange mech suddenly appearing out of nowhere doesn't go unnoticed by many, and soon it drew the attention of both the locals, and the EFA. However, it was a band of Trailers who got to the machine first, expecting to find some good salvage but ending up surprised to find a very lost young woman. They were just starting to explain things to her when the EFA scout deployment arrived. After her captivity under Zaibach, the organized military set her fur a bit on end with their show of force, so she accepted the offer of protection offered by the Trailers. She found the humans strangely welcoming, a change from how her people were treated back on Gaea. Since she had to earn her keep somehow, Sinya took work doing what she did best: working with machines. That was where she caught the eye of Michael Leland. Having lost his only daughter, a mech pilot herself, in a skirmish not more than a year before, it came naturally to him to take the girl under his wing. Picking up where her real father had left off, showing her the ins and outs of these strange machines that were so unlike the guymelefs of her own people. Sinya spent the next two years as part of Leland’s clan of Trailers, working odd jobs for various groups wherever they were needed. Sometimes it was building a new line of mechs and sometimes it was repairing those damaged in battle. All the while, she saved what money she earned and put it towards making modifications to her own guymelef, fitting it out for use as more than just a terrestrial melee machine. Most recently, she worked for a few months on Mars, completing a contract for a corporation that fell loosely under the umbrella of the Divine Crusaders, and getting a first-hand view of just how the EFA treats the people there. Now, between jobs, she finds work here and there in space and on earth, not having quite found any place she fully feels she belongs. |-| Personality= After having spent much of her life as a captive, Sinya highly values her freedom and her ability to choose her own path. It is no surprise that she distastes those who seek to lord themselves over her, or treat her as some lower life-form. It's these type of situations which are the hardest for her, though. With years under the threat of death or worse at the hands of Zaibach soldiers, Sinya is still learning to stand up for herself, especially against those who wield military power. She doesn't take well to being ordered around, even by friends, and doesn't interact well with superiors who prefer to bark commands rather than make requests. Her ethics and code of honor are built from a combination of seeing the world through a slave’s eyes and the business practices of the Trailers. Even so, she keeps to the letter of any contracts or agreements she puts her name to, but she certainly will do no favors to anyone who treats her badly. Like many of her kind, Sinya a strong sense of loyalty for those she calls friends or comrades. She'll go to the ends of the universe and beyond for those she cares about, but her loyalties are harder earned then some. Cautious, the catgirl can sometimes come off as soft-spoken or a bit shy at first, although it usually doesn't take long for her to open up to others. Even so, being 'friendly' and being 'friends' are two very separate things. Sinya has no problem being social to almost anyone, but a rare few are let into her inner circle of trust. Under the surface, she is quite easy-going, finding enjoyment in the simple things in life. Most of all, she wants to find a place she’s needed, a place where she belongs, and the usual things most people want: life, love, freedom. It is her past that sometimes haunts her when it comes to these things. Her pain at the hands of Zaibach has left her reactive to physical contact and a bit fearful of those who are loud or aggressive. When it comes to her profession, however, Sinya is much more single-minded. She focuses in on the details so much at times that she can toil away hours, missing out on meals and social events all in the pursuit of finishing that one project. She’s actually quite intelligent, even though many might take her for some scatterbrained cat-girl stereotype. So far, she’s stuck more towards repairs and modifications rather than design, but machines are a fascination for her. Whenever she’s exposed to a new type of mech, Sinya spends hours sketching, analyzing, and trying to piece together just how everything works. She keeps a collection of drawings of various mechs she’s encountered like most people would keep pin-ups from magazines. While she isn’t part of any organized military, Sinya isn't opposed to getting involved in combat. She feels obligated to come to the aid of her allies and friends, and can sometimes be convinced to go that extra mile for contract work as well. A follower by nature, Sinya isn’t the type to seek out power or rank for her own sake, and she tends to lean towards the role of support rather than that of a leader. They don't tend to be on the front-lines of battle, but Sinya has started to show that she might just have a fighter's heart somewhere in there. She isn’t easily frightened, and alone in her guymelef, Sinya rarely feels more free to be herself. Being a mechanic, she doesn’t worry over damaging her machine, and thus can sometimes stay in the thick of things when others might retreat. However, she usually won't put her life on the line unless there are no other options. She and Arius are both unique creatures who can't be replaced - and their survival means more to her than winning or losing. |-| Abilities= '''Skills': *''Diagnostics Wiz'' - The thing Sinya is most well known for is her skill with diagnostics. When others can't find the problem, she is somehow able to figure it out. There is nothing supernatural about it, simply a keen eye and an understanding about how machines work that she uses to track things down. *''Mechanical Prodigy'' - Just about anything that has to do with machines, engineering or electronics comes as second nature to Sinya. She's spent all of her life around machines and thus has developed as a prodigy when it comes to all things mechanical. *''Design Creativity'' - Sinya has a knack for design, not just in an engineering sense, but also when it comes to drawing an d art. She usually reserves this to her drawings of robots she's encountered, but she also has quite a creative side when it comes to other things as well. She's yet to tamper with designing her own unit, although the idea keeps lingering in her mind. *''Bo-Staff Wielder'' - After discovering that Arius was a staff-user, Sinya began to train herself in using the weapon in order to better pilot her guymelef. She isn't particularly good with other martial arts, but she has become quite wickedly good with a staff. Traits: *''Cat-like Grace'' - Due to her race, Sinya is naturally physically agile. She has the ability to maintain balance even in difficult situations, as well as leap much higher than a normal human. She rarely needs a safety harness and can move around mechs with surprising speed. *''Keen Senses'' - Like many beastmen, she has slightly heightened senses of hearing and smell. Often times, she can pick out voices she has only heard over the radio, or pick out scents of people she's familiar with. This is only a slight improvement on human senses, and nowhere near the level offered to many cyborgs. *''Loyal'' - It was very common for her kind ot be the servants of those in power, and Sinya's nature isn't far from this. For those she does trust, she is as loyal a friend as one could ever find, and one who would never betray those she considers 'family'. *''Home is Where Your Rump Rests'' - Sinya can fall asleep just about anywhere when she's tired. She has been found asleep at her work bench, in mechs, with her head face-down in her dinner. It can be amusing, but also potentially dangerous, as exhaustion can lead her to falling asleep in places she really shouldn't. Flaws: *''Cautious'' - In general, Sinya is quite cautious about other people. She has learned that most people are out for themselves, and thus doesn't tend to trust the intentions of others, no matter how they might seem. As such, her trust is slow to earn, and easy to lose. *''Gun Shy'' - While not afraid of guns in the literal sense, Sinya's past experiences have lead her to having sometimes extreme reactions to being suddenly grabbed, yelled at, or threatened. It can lead her into a fight-or-flight response, which isn't always the wisest course of action. *''Physically Timid'' - Life has a slave has left her a bit shy of physical touch. She rarely reaches out to others, and even more rarely allows prolonged contact. The trust that comes with friendship has started to make her more accepting of physical contact with others, but it is slow-going. The more she lets people in to her world, the more likely they will be allowed close, but thus far there are a rare few she finds herself comfortable with. *''Singleminded'' - When at work, Sinya can be incredibly single-minded. She tends to focus so closely on her work that she sometimes ignores social interaction completely. She has been known to miss meals and appointments in favor of finishing a project. Story So Far... After fighting in her first real combat against a monster that was threatening the Martian seas, Sinya had drawn the attention of at least one of the local Crusaders due to her strange unit. Ascian Luddite helped her when she got mistaken for one of Lord Genome's beastmen and assaulted by some Acemos inspectors while on a job. In order to repay him for his help, she came to the aid of the Martian farmers, only to end up nearly killed. Owing her life to the Ark Hammer, Sinya agreed to work on contract for the Crusaders for a time, and ended up once again facing combat, this time against the Argama. In the mean time, she had also been making more ties among the Trailers, setting up some repair jobs with Edward Fawkes. In a surprising move, he asked her out, but with her life so much in turmoil, the catgirl had to refuse. After her contract to the Ark Hammer expired, Sinya was all too quick to accept a job working at the Raven's Nest. While there, she was drawn into the strange relationship between her benefactor, a cyborg named R and the corporation he worked for: Crest - a situation that only seems to get worse over time. It even got to the point where she and some others broke into Crest to try to find a way of freeing him from their hold. Still, even with Crest's influence, she still had steady work. Work that ended up interrupted by the arrival of a battleship from La Gias, captained by the enigmatic Xiang Yuan. By R's request, she tooka contract as a consultant to the SuiKyosha, getting the crew up to speed on things - even if the Captain's behavior was confusing enough to drive the catgirl to confront him on it. A confrontation that lead her to accompanying the Captain and XO to a celebration for the revival of Neo Japan, only to find herself starting to open up to the ship's captain. Where-as some people fall easily into relationships, the one between Sinya and Xiang Yuan was far more troublesome. It built slowly, fraught with misunderstandings and confusion that needed not only the outside influences of her friend, Edward, but also the SuiKyosha's XO Yu Zhi Wu. Somehow, all of this brought the two cautious people together, allowing them to admit their feelings at last. But that was only the start of their problems. The traditions of the people meant that their relationship had to be kept a secret, for the time being. A number of battles followed, including one in which Sinya and her team of Gunman had to be called in to rescue a downed Gundam piloted by Macua Huitl. During her recovery onboard the SuiKyosha, Sinya found herself feeling some kinship for the woman, especially with her relationship with fellow Trailer Kazuma Ardygun. All the while, Sinya was struggling with a broken energist on her guymelef, which required the need of a smuggler in order to replace. Tracking down her supplier didn't only mean getting her unit back up and running, but it also brought her an interestng new aquaintence: Nia - daughter of the Spiral King. Between battles, the catgirl had begun taking on a number of new projects. She did some research into cybernetics, which resulted in a rogue robot hand, and a promise that her experiements wouldn't cause further havoc. Edward came to her next, asking for help with some ancient machine that he had been looking into, something tied to his memories from the past. She agreed to work on the project once it was excavated, but also gave him some information to trade with the Crusaders in order to keep them away from the dig site. Things on the SuiKyosha were changing as well. Her relationship with the Captain grew deeper, to the point of him sharing more and more about his past with her. However, things were growing more tense as well. The leader of the SuiKyoshan Guard began to become more and more vocal with his distaste of outsiders, so much so that it disrupted a pleasant visit by Nia. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. He eventually executed a his long-running plan to eliminate what he saw as the source of much of the changes in his people's tradition: their outsider 'liason' Sinya Leland. She survived nearly drowning, but it lead to the banishment of Liu Feng, who took with him quite a few of the SuiKyoshan warriors and some of the ship's crew. This lead Sinya to only worry that much more about if she would ever be accepted, and lead Xiang to share just that much more about his history and his fate as the SuiKyosha's Captain. A short time later, Sinya aquired a new roomate in the form of the Raven soldier Tina Uesugi. The young woman beat the catgirl in a one on one match in the Arena, and later revealed that she had no place to stay, so Sinya invited her to crash in her trailer. During a dinner at home, the two revealed a bit of their history, and Tina became one of only a few to share the secret about Sinya's love-life. Later, Tina began teaching Sinya how to swim - a lesson well needed after Liu Feng's attempt on her life. Tina wasn't the only new 'friend' that Sinya made. She also developed a strange relationship as a teacher to Solis Vivent, trying to teach the sheltered young man about love. She also took on a job to create a new pirate-styled Gunman for Macua Huitl, refusing to take payment for something done for a friend - besides, she provided most of the parts anyways. As quiet as things might have been for a time, strife rarely takes a vacation. With danger on two fronts, Sinya began being drawn into Trailer operations against the Spiral King, fighting on the front lines in Siberia as well as stumbling on more beastman operations below the dangeorus city of Underground. While the threat from Lord Genome remains, there were more immediate issues. R, her employer and friend was revealed to be an AI with only the memories of the man he had once been. All too quickly, the A-LAWs decided to step in, demanding him be turned over and causing problems for weeks on end around the Raven's Nest. ... (to be continued) Relationships Romance= Xiang Yuan Her relationship with Yuan had quite a rocky start between mixed signals, miscommunication, and dealing with the expectations of his rank. However, something about the stone-faced Emperor drew her none the less. She saw these small glimpses into the man behind the 'act' he put on, and slowly found herself caring more and more for him. When she did finally manage to admit her love for him, it finally seemed as if all the pieces of her life had fit into place. For now, though, their relationship is kept a guarded secret, known only to a few of Sinya's closest friends. There is the looming worry of what his people would think if they were to discover that he'd taken an outsider - a commoner - and a beastman as his beloved. |-| Friendship= Edward Fawkes There is something strange about Edward. Sinya can't quite understand it, but he has some connection to La Gias, and to some other life that he gets flashes of. While it can be an unnerving thing at times, something others might treat with caution, she has come to accept that as just part of who he is. While he did ask her out once, very early on after meeting her, and Sinya turned him down, she still considers him a friend, which is high praise for a someone who doesn't let people in that easily. Yu Zhi Wu The XO of the SuiKyosha is one of the few humans Sinya has ever encountered who has dealt with others of her kind. Unlike with so many others, she doesn't have to explain the differences in culture and customs, which is a nice change of pace. She teases the woman mercilessly about her 'fetish for cyborgs', but does seem generally concerned over the commanding woman's well being. In some ways, Sinya looks up to her, especially the way she's so easily able to use her womanly wiles. She also owes her for her encouragement and sometimes underhanded plotting to 'hook-up' Sinya and Xiang Yuan. R (Archangel) Archangel is actually one of the few people Sinya has first encountered on Trailer radio chatter who ended up becoming someone a regular part of her life. He is responsible for her current job at the Raven's Nest, and for that she is quite greatful. As an ex-slave, she understands all too well what it is like to be bound, and his contract to Crest rubs her the wrong way. So far, she's begun research into cybernetics, as well as risked her life invading a Crest facility for his sake. Nia Nia inadvertently got herself involved in a bad business dealing between Sinya and a fellow beastman. While the girl mistook Sinya for one of her father's creations, that misconception was quickly fixed. As someone who has come through from La Gias only a few years ago, she certainly can relate to the 'newness' of this world, although Nia certainly is far more naive than Sinya ever was. She invited Nia and the Gurren Brigade to visit the SuiKyosha, knowing how much the people who live there idolize those heroes of the Spiral lands. Tina Uesugi A young Armored Core pilot, Sinya began talking to on the radio when she returned to the Raven's Nest. After a brief spar with her in the Arena, Sinya had been the one to yield and call in a medic when Tina pushed herself too far. Powerful, but seemingly unpredictable and almost tortured by her machine, Sinya is left worrying over just how much danger she puts herself in just to fight. Of course, with recent events regarding big corporations and the Raven's Nest, Sinya can't help but be a bit uncertain about another Armored Core pilot so 'shackled' to a company. Still, when she had nowhere else to go, Sinya offered to let the pilot come to stay with her in her Trailer - in a deal that apparently involves trading home-cooked food for rent. |-| Affinity= Divada Kirador While defending civilians on Mars, Divada came to Sinya's aid when her unit fell under fire. The Ark Hammer picked her up after the fight, and later the Crusader captain offered her some temporary work on board. Repeated meetings since then have left Sinya feeling as if Divada is one of the more stable and level-headed Crusaders she's met. Ascian Luddite During an Acemos inspection on Mars, Sinya was singled out as a 'beastman'. Ascian had been disguised as a common management worker, but came to her aid. Together, the two of them managed to take down a couple of LEVs and escape detection. Afterwards, when he called for aid to help defend the Martian farms, Sinya returned the favor. The last time she saw the framerunner was when he helped her sneak out of the Ark Hammer's medical bay. Kazuma Ardygun One of the more 'sane' of the Trailers, at least in Sinya's opinion. At times when others seem intent to run off killing for the 'fun' of it, or just for money, he is a breath of fresh-air that reminds her that not all of her faction are money-hungry killers. The relationship between him and Macua was also heartwarming to her, seeing that even within the war, there can be people who find each other. Macua Huitl A Gundam fighter, and seemingly allied with the Trailers. Sinya has only really met her a couple of times, but she seems to have a general liking for the Brazilian. She first met her along with her boyfriend Kazuma on the SuiKyosha, but later helped to rescue her and salvage her Gundam after it was destroyed in battle. |-| Uncertainty= Ringo Mason A former Divine Crusader who doubted her claims of being a 'catgirl'. He did seem nice enough once he had been proved wrong, although there is still something strange about him. Perhaps it is his claims about being killed by the Crusaders and brought back by the Balmarians, or the fact that he seems somehow outside of the war, with his own agenda. In either case, she isn't sure what to think of him - although he did invite her out to dinner. |-| Caution= Boyle Fortner (and the Frighteners) Not only did this so-called mercenary target her while she was trying to help an evacuation of civilians on Mars, but he nearly destroyed the facility she was trying to protect. She can't imagine why someone Martian-born would treat their own people with such contempt. In the process, Sinya nearly lost her life, and as such she has no great love for the man, or for the Frighteners in general. |-| Hatred= |-| NPCs Liu Feng *'Adoptable': No (Character has established plotline.) *'Profile': Liu Feng is the captain of the SuiKyosha's armed forces. In many ways, people look to him as a 'third in command' when Xiang Yuan and Yu Zhi Wu are occupied elsewhere. He has no bond to the ship as they do, however. Feng is a strong martial artist, and a stronger leader, but he quite blatantly disagrees with how the SuiKyosha is being managed by the Emperor. While he doesn't tend to question outwardly, he and Xiang Yuan have come to words more than once regarding how the ship is run. Feng believes that the citizens of the SuiKyosha are a 'chosen people' and shouldn't intermingle too much with the outside world. He despises non-humans, especially beastmen, believing them all to be twisted freaks of nature. After picking a fight with Sinya, he not only lost to the catgirl, but found himself dishonored by the Emperor and has not forgiven either of them for that slight. While he remains in his position for now, it seems unlikely that he'll quietly brood about things for long. Sooner or later, there will be retribution. Chao Ling *'Adoptable': Yes *'Profile': Chao Ling is a seventeen year old who was born before his people were brought onto the SuiKyosha. He remembers the bad times under the former Emperor, and the worse times after his exile. He is part of a younger generation who has accepted life on the SuiKyosha and their abrupt displacement into the modern world without any difficulties. Bright and intelligent, Ling has a natural ability with machines and learns quickly. He's also an amateur gunman pilot, with his own pieced-together skull-like gunman. Friendly and outgoing, he has great potential and is slated to someday become the hangar manager for the SuiKyosha - although he still has a long way to go before being ready for that honor. Due to spending a great deal of time with Sinya as part of his training, a few rumors have started that suggest the two are an 'item', but Ling denies this outright. In truth, he has his eyes on the shy girl who's lived next door from him all of his childhood. Kairo Delgado *'Adoptable': Yes *'Profile': Kairo, known mostly just as 'Kai' is a wolf-like beastman from Gaea who sells his services to the highest bidder. Known mostly as a smuggler, he isn't against getting his hands bloody for a price. Underhanded, devious, and deceitful, Kai has no problems screwing people over as long as it gets him his way. However, he is one of the best at running hard to find, illicit or illegal goods into and out of La Gias. He pilots a stolen Asturian guymelef, but can sometimes be seen piloting other units depending on who happens to have hired him at the time. Logs |columns = 2 |ordermethod = title |notcategory = cutscenes |suppresserrors = yes }} Category:Trailers Category:Escaflowne Category:Original Characters